


Circus Solace

by JoshPupWrites



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Reader Insert, circus AU, imagine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 09:04:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15361008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoshPupWrites/pseuds/JoshPupWrites
Summary: Circus Solace is a home to anyone that needs it. Solace not only gave you a home, but a family, and something even more special than that...





	Circus Solace

In a land where fairy tales are real, and magic fills the earth, one would think a circus doesn’t have that big of a draw, but it’s quite the opposite. Circuses were filled with lights that twist into different shapes and animals, unicorns and griffins prancing around, candy that is so much more than sweet. Even the carousels are bewitched to make the animals come to life. These were unlike anything else.

Growing up, Chan never pictured himself apart of a traveling circus. Circus Solace came to town every five years. The first year it came, Chan, at the young age of eight, was captivated by its magic. He had gone with his parents after they had finished work and just one step in, his senses were overwhelmed. His eyes widened at all the bright and pretty lights, mouth watered at sight of all the delicious food that sat high on their stands. When he finally entered the tent for the show, the highlight of the night, his nose was filled with the smell of dirt, sweat, and animals. Little eight-year-old Chan had entered another world, a magical (quite literally), amazing world.

The five years to follow were a disaster. One thing after another hit without a break, and by the time Circus Solace came back into town, Chan had no family to go with, and no home to return too. He somehow scrambled together enough money to buy a ticket and entered the familiar circus. The lights hung just as he had6 last seen them, casting their light down on everything, creating little images that danced around on the ground. He didn’t know why he wasted his money on a ticket, money that could have bought him dinner, but here he was, walking between the stalls. His feet carried him to the grand red and white striped tent, and before he knew it, he was sitting on a wooden bench, watching the ringmaster in the center and the rest of his ensemble doing amazing things. It gave Chan a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time.

By the time Circus Solace was packing up to head to the next town, Chan had found a new family. He may not have landed the best job, instructed to simply help with the animals, but it was better than nothing. In what seemed like a blink of an eye but also a hundred-year wait, Chan had moved up the ladder. From stable boy, to the occasional stilt walking, then to lion taming, and finally the circus’ animal trainer. Any higher and he might as well be the ringmaster. At the young age of twenty, Chan was the head over all the animals, and people that worked with animals at Solace.

Life was simple, train animals, bask in the laughs and squeals of joy from the crowd each time they performed, then repeat. Over the course of time, Chan had picked up close friends. People that had left their homes like he did, whether it was because they had no other choice, or they were running from something. Some came and went, the circus life not being for them, or were pulled back by angry relatives, but the ones that stayed he grew close to.

First came Jisung, who ran away from his unstable family, physically and emotionally, and joined the circus a few years after Chan. Chan had been wary at first, because in the past four years people had joined, he befriended them, and then they left him—just like his parents had. Jisung however, was quickly adopted by the small group of circus clowns, drawn by his ever-cheery personality. Not only did Chan become close with Jisung, but the two of them ended up sharing a tent together. Then Changbin joined. He came from a very different background than the other two. Changbin ran to Solace to escape a suffocating life of snobby rich people. His parents had his life planned out for him, from birth to death, he had no say in anything. At the age of sixteen, Changbin snapped. Chan and Jisung quickly took him under their wing, helping him adjust to the wild life Circus Solace handed you. And soon, Changbin was a stilt-walker. Hyunjin and Woojin followed shortly after Changbin. They both came from the same town, beaten up and spiritless. It didn’t take long for Solace to accept the two misfits. Soon they were living comfortable around the magicians of the circus, happily chatting away with the rest of the boys at meals, sharing stories of the funny things that happened at work. Chan honestly didn’t remember when Minho showed up, but he sure as hell was glad he came. Chan and Minho became closer than anything else, and Minho quickly adjusted to circus life, becoming one of the best jugglers there. Then came Seungmin and Jeongin, the two youngest the group of friends had yet to meet. Seungmin never once opened up as to why he joined Solace, but from the look in his eyes, Chan knew it was nothing good. Chan might even argue Seungmin experienced the worst out of all of them. Jeongin, little Jeongin. The reason he left for Solace was simply to spite his parents, but when his parents never came for him and the circus began to pack up, deeply hurt, Jeongin swore he’d stay with Solace for the rest of his life. Seungmin landed in Hooping, and Jeongin, still too young to do much, followed in Chan’s footsteps. Thankfully, since Chan was in charge, Jeongin’s life was a little easier as a stable boy. Most recently, and the most unique, was Felix. Felix came from a far-off foreign country, and when the original plan of making a living fell through, he was left broke and homeless. Joining Circus Solace was his best chance of making it in life. And that’s how Solace gained their best, most enamoring Acrobat.

Chan’s friend group, or rather, family, was an odd one. A mixture of kids that now called Circus Solace their home, some without choice. And thus, the small little family created the name Stray Kids. Everything became just as magical and blissful as it had been when Chan first stepped foot into Solace. The you arrived. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as you. Chan had been walking back from dinner, a drunk Minho staggering behind him (rules went out the window at Circus Solace you see), when he spotted you between tents. Your skirt had layers upon messy layers of burgundies and blues, and a loose fitting, flowy black shirt to match it, exposing a little bit of your stomach and shoulders. Beads hung down from the top of your skirt, jingling slightly with each of your movements. Lastly, there was a burgundy bandana, holding your hair back like a headband, adorn with similar golden beads that could be found on your skirt. Chan couldn’t help but catch his breath. Because of your outfit, right away he could tell you were one of the fortune tellers, but he’d never seen you before. And for someone who’s been there for years, not knowing someone was odd.

Later the next day, Chan searched around and soon learned you had joined the circus about a week or two ago, reasons still unknown. Chan had no idea how he could have missed that, but he wasn’t mad. Not when someone so stunning had joined the caravan. Now his only question was: how on earth was he going to come up with an excuse to talk with you. Chan only ever really talked with his Stray Kids, the only time he really went out of that friend group was with his coworkers when dealing with all the animals. Of course, he knew everyone around the circus, after being there for so long he didn't really have an option. But striking up a conversation with someone as beautiful as you just didn’t seem possible to him.

“Hey, Woojin, do you guys hang out with the fortune tellers often?” Chan questioned as the two of them worked on pulling up one of the tents.

“Yah,” Woojin grunted, focusing on lifting the heavy tent, “usually we all get together for a meal or two throughout the week. Why?”

“Well…” Chan started, but Woojin finished for him.

“It’s that new fortune teller, right? Want to talk with them?” Woojin questioned.

“How on earth did you know that?” Chan faltered.

“I’m a magician.” Woojin stated.

“Right, but like, can magicians really read minds?”

“We can do anything if we train hard enough. Most of the magicians here focus the aesthetic of magic, to add to the circus atmosphere.” Woojin said wiggling his fingers to emphasis.

“Well, they’re doing a good job of it.” Chan chuckled, then silences fell.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Woojin finally said. Chan couldn’t help but let a small smile spread across his face.

By the end of the night, Chan was standing outside of a navy-blue tent, warm yellow light spilling out of the cracks. Mustering up all the courage he had, he reached out and pushed back the fabric that hung between him and you. Inside was unlike anything he had seen before. Sure, he’d been in the other fortune teller tents before, but there was something special about this one. All around him was the universe. Stars that actually seemed to twinkle, and galaxies that seemed to shift in color. And there, sitting in the middle of all of it, was you. You looked up and smiled at him, a smile so soft Chan felt as if he’d melt into the carpeted ground right then and there.

             “Hey! Woojin said you wanted to get your fortune told?” you asked.

             “Uh...yah.” Chan replied, shuffling awkwardly towards you. The closer he got, the more he couldn’t believe you were real. When he looked into your eyes, all he could think of was the sky. And when you lifted your hand to gaze into your crystal ball, a sparkling came from your fingers that Chan had never seen from any other person before. To him, it looked as if you were spinning stars along your fingers. It was mesmerizing to watch. And fitting in perfectly with the aesthetic of the tent, your crystal ball greatly resembled a globe. So many things were happening at once, Chan’s senses were about to go on overload. From the smell, to the small jingling from the bracelets around your wrist, to the different lights, Chan felt as if all his senses had been heightened to the extreme.

            When Chan finally slipped out of the tent, he couldn’t think straight. Honestly, he couldn’t even remember what you had said about his fortune. The two of you had talked a good bit outside of the whole fortune thing he wasn’t even sure you _had_ told him his fortune. Somehow during that conversation, Chan managed to invite you to a practice show in the ring he would be putting on. You had excitedly agreed, and Chan realized just how much he was falling for you. It felt like he was walking on clouds as he made his way from your part of the circus to the part he and Minho had set up their shared tent. When he walked into his own tent, he found not only Minho, but Woojin.

             “So, how’d it go?” Minho questioned, looking up from the card game he was playing with Woojin.

             “I filled him in.” Woojin explained, catching the confused look that crossed Chan’s face.

             “It was good… they said they’d come to my practice run tomorrow.” Chan said, slipping of his shoes, pulling out some loose-fitting clothes to sleep in.

             “Aye! Not bad Chan, not bad.” Minho cheered with a smirk. In reply, Chan chucked his shirt at Minho, causing all three of them to chuckle a bit.

The next day was a blur for Chan. He was excited for you to see what he spent all his time and hard work on, but also nervous. Partly because of your presences, but also because he was performing some new tricks this time around. He was breaking from the same performance he’d been running with the animals for a few months now. Every time he changed up the routine, Chan couldn’t help but stress a little. If anything goes wrong, everything falls onto him now being in such a high position. At least he had Jeongin by his side to keep him a little calmer.

             As expected by the rest of the Stray Kids, Chan’s performance went flawlessly. After the show, Chan met up with you and learned just how much you had enjoyed it. The two of you ended up getting lunch afterwards since you had “so many questions about how the animals are trained.” Later Chan would learn that was just your excuse to spend more time with him. While Chan was so focused on making sure his gigantic crush on you didn’t show, he missed the fact you were in the same exact boat. You had noticed Chan way before he had noticed you. Actually, you had seen Chan before you even joined the circus…

             You’d heard a lot about Solace. One of the circuses that comes to the cluster of towns in your area every few years, known for its magical element. Every circus in the country focuses on one thing. Some focus on all the odd creators and deformities the world has to offer, others focus on how many crazy tricks they can show off. Solace focused on something you had an interest in. Magic. You were one of the only people in your town to have anything related to magic, and that wasn’t a good thing for you. In your town, anything mystical was scorn. So naturally, having fortune telling skills wasn’t the best thing to share. Thankfully it wasn’t something terribly hard to hid, but the town still knew, or at least, suspected. That was enough to make your life a living hell growing up. Only recently had you learned that your father had actually been a part of a circus, and when he met your mother…well, you came along.

             That circus moved on, leaving your mother to care for you all by herself. Your father and his circus came back a few times, you even remember meeting him every few years, but the town scorned you and your mother. Not only was she a single woman, but she had fallen for a magician, then produced _you._ So many times, you had walked into a store and hear whispers fill the room, or seen the old women of the town discuss how your mother had been tricked by your father’s witchcraft. How you were just a living example of why magic was a terrible thing. You were reaching your limit.

             When you stepped foot into Solace, you couldn’t help but feel right at home. Everything about it made your heart bubble up with happiness. To know your father came from something like this gave you back all the pride that the townsfolk had stolen from you. You loved it. You wanted to live with it, live _in_ it. And then you saw _him._ Welcoming people as they filed into the big red and white stripped tent. There he stood in all his glory, his dark hair styled perfectly, his red suit fitting his figure just right. Out of all the amazing things in this circus, he was the best thing. Waving at little kids, greeting adults with a wide smile, he was perfect. You watched him for a bit, he seemed to know everyone around the circus. He stopped to talk with the stilt walkers, cheered on the jugglers, even engaged with the clowns, causing a crowd to gather and cheer. If you hadn’t already seen the ringmaster, you would have been positive this guy was him, had it not also been for his young age. Seeing just how comforting this circus was, both in regards to the magic, and the way all the workers treated each other was enough for you to go and find out if a job was open.  

             Sure enough, you were welcome to join the other fortune tellers, in fact, they were ecstatic to have another join them, but you had to talk it over with your mom first. When you came back home and talked with your mother, and she saw just how excited the circus had made you, she couldn’t help but let you go. She knew it was for the best. The circus was in your blood, and you both knew there was no chance of making a living in the town. Not when everyone was so against magic. So, with a few tears and lots of hugs, when Solace left the area you were leaving with it, and you couldn’t be more excited.

             Then you learned his name. Chan, the animal trainer. The other fortune tellers told you a bit about him, how he had been with the circus for around seven years. The older ones recounted the day they first met him when he stumbled into Solace looking for work, and how he climbed the ladder to get to where he was now. Then you met the magicians Woojin and Hyunjin, close friends of Chan. Everything seemed to line up perfectly to meet the one and only Chan soon. You were almost speechless when Woojin came to you telling you that Chan wanted to get his fortune told, promptly followed by a wink from Woojin. You stomach was full to the brim of butterflies when Chan walked into your tent. You could barely focus on anything because he was there watching you. When he invited you to his practice run you felt as if you had flown over the moon and landed with the stars that are plastered all along the inside of your tent. How was this all working out for you so well. Nothing ever went well for you. Never. It was almost too good to be true…

             You and Chan grew closer with each passing day. At first the two of you kept coming up with excuses to see each other. Then, what once was an excuse just became habit. When Solace wasn’t open, the two of you would have lunch together. What started off as lunch alone, soon turned into lunch with the rest of Stray Kids, and you were totally okay with that. When Solace was open, since it opened around the evening, the two of you would eat breakfast together, and discuss all the events that were to take place. The simple crush the two of you had was now growing into something more. Now, after weeks of knowing each other, you two had entered a weird point in your relationship. Everyone knew. The Stray Kids knew, the rest of the people around Solace knew, and deep down inside even both you and Chan knew how you felt for each other. At this point, it was just a matter of who takes the first step.

            But who _was_ going to take the first step. You didn’t want it to be yourself. No, you had just gotten to the circus, you weren’t about to ruin your relationship with Chan and the rest of them by confessing. Even if you were pretty sure he liked you, you just didn’t want to risk it. But then, Chan had his own set of problems about confessing to you. Naturally, the rest of Stray kids took it upon themselves to help solve this problem.

            “Hey (y/n)!” Hyunjin called as he ran up to you. You stopped and smiled at the magician as he caught up with you.

            “Hey Hyunjin. Need something?” you asked.

            “Not really, just wanted to talk, I finished my work for today…mostly…” Hyunjin said.

            “Oh, well if that’s the case help me out here.” You said, shifting one of the big boxes from your arms into Hyunjin’s, making your life a lot easier.

            “I heard Chan is supposed to get some new animals to work with at the next town we go too.”

            “Really? I feel like he already has so many…” you stated, the two of you heading towards your tent. “You think he’ll be able to handle it?”

            “Yah, he’s Chan after all. Plus, he was Jeongin and the rest of the staff to help him. Are you worried about him?” Hyunjin questioned with a smirk.

            “Of…of course, who wouldn’t worry about a friend.” You faltered, making Hyunjin’s smirk grow even bigger.

            “Right…friend.” Hyunjin repeated, making you raise an eyebrow at him.

            “What?” you questioned almost a little too harsh.

            “Come on (y/n), we all know how you feel about Chan.” Hyunjin said.

            “So?” you questioned. “if you’re asking why I haven’t confessed to him yet, that’s exactly the reason.”

            “What do you mean by that?” Hyunjin questioned, placing the box down outside of your tent having finally arrived.

            “I mean, if everyone knows how I feel about Chan, then he should know as well. And if he hasn’t said anything to me yet then he must not return the feeling. I’m not about to ruin a good friendship over a dumb crush.”

            “Ah, well do I have news for you.” Hyunjin mumbled as he followed you into your tent.

 

            “Chan said _what?_ ” you exclaimed, staring at Hyunjin in disbelief. Hyunjin nodded.

            “See, I told you this wasn’t a one-sided thing.”

            “Are you sure though?” you questioned.

            “Yes. Jisung and Changbin sat down and talked with him. The two of them have known Chan the longest. You know Chan had a rough childhood, right? He’s scared he’ll lose you if he says anything.” Hyunjin explained.

            “We all have so many issues at Solace…” you laughed bitterly. “I don’t think I have the confidence to say anything to him though.”

            “I don’t think he’s going to say anything.” Hyunjin sighed. You buried your face in your hands.

            “Crushes are honestly the worst.” You complained.

            “Yah, you tell me…” Hyunjin sighed again, looking off to the side, his thoughts clouding his vision.

            “Hey, don’t worry… you’re probably going to have more success than me.” You said, offering a small smile as you looked up from your hands.

            “I don’t know…at least you know Chan’s past so you know what’s going through his head. I’ve got no clue.” Hyunjin said, running his hand through his hair, clearly agitated.  

            “I’m sure it’ll work out.”

            Soon Hyunjin left for his own tent, and you settled down for bed. As you pulled your covers up to your chin, you couldn’t help but think about everything Hyunjin had told you. You couldn’t really remember how it came about, but you and Hyunjin often talked about your crushes with each other. Hyunjin was the only person you ever confided your inner thoughts too. Would you really have the courage to confess to Chan? If what Hyunjin said was really true, there was no way Chan would turn you down right? But something was still holding you back. Maybe you should visit one of the fortune tellers that specified in romance and have them tell your fortune. If you did that, you’d really expose yourself. You let out a long, loud sigh. Everyone already knew at this point, what did it matter. You made your mind up to visit the other fortune teller the next morning and finally let yourself drift to sleep.

            Naturally, the next morning you regretted your choice, but it was already too late. You had made up your mind and you weren’t going to back down now, no matter how much you regretted it. You found one of the older fortune tellers and asked if you could get some help, and naturally they agreed. You were the youngest fortune teller out of everyone, so they were always quick to take you under their wings. It was still a weird feeling for you however. You awkwardly sat yourself down in the tent after breakfast and waited for your fortune to be delivered.

            “You’re planning on confessing to someone, correct?” the fortune teller questioned. Even though you yourself knew there was truly magic involved in the art of fortune telling, you felt as though the fortune teller had already known that.

            “Yah…” you answered quietly. The fortune teller took a closer look at you and then peered down into her crystal ball. The two of you sat in silence for a little then a big smile formed on the fortune tellers’ lips.

            “(Y/n), you have to take him somewhere with a bunch of fairy lights.” The fortune teller declared.

            “What? Wait, you saw him, right?” you questioned.

            “Of course, I’d recognize Chan from a mile away.” The fortune teller declared, resting their elbows on the table. You blushed at the mention of Chan’s name. “Look, if you’re by a bunch of fairy lights, I’m positive the outcome will go well.”

            “This is a circus, there’s fairy lights almost everywhere.” You groaned.

            “Then that should make things a lot easier right?” The fortune teller questioned.

            “But what if I still manage to mess it up?” you questioned, “what if I get the wrong fairy lights?”

            “It shouldn’t matter which fairy lights honestly, but if you really want to have the same one,” the fortune teller said, taking another look into her crystal ball, “it looks like the ones by the food stalls.”

            “Okay! Thank you so much for your help!” you exclaimed, happy to have such a specific place.

            “Good luck! It’s about time the two of you get together.” The fortune teller called after you as you rushed out of the tent, heat rushing to your face. The only issue with your confession being under fairy lights would mean it would either be early morning when everyone’s dead tired and the Solace had finally closed, or it was during the actual circus. It wasn’t unheard of to have Chan walking around the circus from time to time, after all, the animals weren’t constantly putting on a show. But for you it wasn’t as easy. Once you set yourself up in your stall, you couldn’t really leave until after the circus closed. The hope that you had been feeling before was slowly disappearing when you came to terms with how hard it would be for the two of you to meet up at night while the fairy lights were shinning. Even when Circus Solace was moving to the next town they didn’t hang up fairy lights. Your only choice was to do it sometime during the circus. Maybe Hyunjin would be able to help you.

            “Oh yah, leave it to me (y/n).” Hyunjin declared, giving you a thumbs-up.

            “Leave what up to you?” Minho questioned. You whipped around to find Minho with juggling bats tucked under his arms and Seungmin next to him, several black hoops balancing on his shoulder.  

            “Uh, just some…stuff.” You slowly answered.

            “Convincing.” Seungmin deadpanned. You laughed nervously and looked to Hyunjin for help, who only shrugged his shoulders, not sure how to cover either.

            “Are you finally going to confess to Chan?” Minho questioned. Both yours and Hyunjin’s jaws dropped open and Minho chuckled. “Guess I was right.”

            “Good luck with that.” Seungmin declared before following Minho off to one of the big red and white stripped tents for their performance later tonight.

            “You think we can do it tonight?” you asked as you watched Hyunjin stare after the two of them as they walked away.

            “Yah,” Hyunjin answered, “leave it to me, I’ll come get you when it’s all set up.”

            “And it won’t be an issue if I leave my stall for a little?”

            “No, people leave their stalls a lot more than you’d think. If there’s any problems ill cover and say there was an emergency or something.” Hyunjin reassured you. “Make sure you look good tonight.” He said with a wink before heading off to help set up some tents. Tonight, was the first night in a new town. Not always the busiest night people wise as it was the second night that drew people, but for the staff, setting up was always a race against the clock. You rushed off to help where you could as well, and before you knew it the sun had turned the sky a beautiful array of colors and the circus lights slowly started to flicker on, the magicians working hard at their magic. You headed for your ten and began to prepare for the night, putting on your best outfit and fixing your hair as best as you could. Was it really going to happen tonight? What if everything goes wrong? You shook your head, thinking like this wasn’t going to make things any better, it was just going to stress you out.

            By the time you had cleaned yourself and your tent up, the circus was only minutes away from opening, so you planted yourself down at your stall and counted the minutes for Hyunjin to show up. The circus was about half way over when Hyunjin finally showed up in front of you, decked out in his perfectly fitting tailcoat and top hat.

            “You make a good-looking magician Hyunjin.” You stated, never really getting tired of seeing him in that outfit.

            “Thanks, I get told that a lot. Now hurry up of Chan’s going to be waiting for you!”

            “Thank you so much for all of this Hyunjin.” You said giving him a small hug before dashing off to the food stall section.

            “You owe me one!” Hyunjin called after you.

 

            As expected, when you arrive in the spot you were to meet at, Chan was already waiting, wearing a red suit like when you had first seen him all that time ago. He still looked just as good in it, if not better since you actually knew him now. You slowed down and made your way up to him.

            “Hey, sorry I’m late.” You huffed, trying hard to catch your breath.

            “You’re fine, I just got here.” Chan reassured, offering a bright smile that made your heart melt. Chan was too good for you, what were you thinking. You could feel your hands sweating just at the thought of confessing to him. You shouldn’t have done this.

            “So Hyunjin said you wanted to tell me something?” Chan questioned, and your stomach sank. You sort of felt like you needed to throw up, and at this rate Chan could probably hear your heart beating.

            “Uh…” you started, not really sure how to answer now that you felt like you were going to let out all of the dinner you had eaten. Chan waited patiently as your eyes looked everywhere except him.

            “I…uh, just wanted to tell you…” you finally began, ringing your hands together nervously.

            “I think I might know.” Chan chuckled, reaching out to grab one of your hands. Your eyes finally landed on Chan and he seemed to be glowing.

            “How?” you gasped.

            “Ah, well, I _might_ have been filled in by a certain someone, or rather, a few someones” Chan explained, laughing when he saw your horrified face.

            “Word really gets around fast at this circus, huh?” you finally said. The two of you laughed a little, then slowly started to walk through the food stalls hand in hand.

            “Hey Chan?” you said, turning to look him in the eyes. “I promise I won’t leave you.”

            “I know you won’t.” Chan smiled, his grip on your hand getting a little tighter. “And I guess, I should officially ask. Would you date me?” he asked, his smile getting even bigger.

            “Hmm, let me think about that…” you said, pretending to be deep in thought. “I think I can allow that.” You finally answered, causing the two of you to laugh.

            As the two of you walked through the circus, you marveled in its magic once more. The little animals twisted out of light dancing around both of you, the smells that came from the food stands, full of treats you’d only be able to find at Circus Solace. Magic hung in the air and tingled your skin. You’d never felt so content before. You were finally accepted by people and appreciated for your magic. You had a new amazing family of nine precious boys. But most importantly, you had Chan. 

 


End file.
